Hanger cover



Dec. 18, 1951 REINER 2,578,741

HANGER COVER Filed Nov. 9, 1948 INVENTOR. A 41 5 Fawn? Patented Dec. 18, 1951 UNITED STATES PAT ENT OFFICE "l- IANGER cover; Ralph SIRein'er, SteubenvillaOhio Application November 9, 1948,;SerialNo;.59,155

2 Claims.

This invention relates generally to hanger covers and more particularly to improved hanger cover constructions inwhich the retention and indication of the garment. are provided for.

The most useful and satisfactory method of supporting garments in home storage and while on display in stores has been the placing of the garments on hangers. In order that the hangers shall not snag the clothing to cause raveling and fraying, and in order that theclothing shall not be soiled by thehanger, it is highly desirable that the hanger have a smooth non-absorbent finish. This has been best obtained by varnished or lacquered woodhangers or by hangers which have been moulded of synthetic resins. is advantageous that the finish of the hanger be smooth, for the reason given above and so that it will not carry soil from onegarment to another, this smoothness offers insufficient friction so that when disturbed, the garment, particularly womens garments, slides off the hanger and falls to the floor. This results in the garment getting dirty and wrinkled. This sliding off of the garment occurs even more frequently when the arms of the hangerhave a desirable shoulder angle slope, and when the garments are handled by prospective customers on the racks and display racks in stores or similar establishments.

Garments while hanging and supported upon hangers tend to collect dust and soil and it has heretoforeybeen proposed to put a cover over the upper part of the garment on the hanger to protect it from such dust and soil. This protection has been effective providing that the garment itself did not fall off the hanger. When this did occur however, it was even more bothersome to remove the cover, then replace the garment, and then to put the cover back on again.

It is therefore among theobjects of the present invention to provide a novel and useful combination hanger cover having me'ansto retain he garment upon the hanger as Well as means to indicate characteristics of the garment or other data relative thereto.

Another object herein lies in the provision of structure of the class described which is capable of quick and easy manipulation.

Another object lies in the provision of a device of the present character which is of simple and foolproof construction so that the article may have a long useful life and so that it may be manufactured at" low cost, to have a consequent large distribution and sale.

These objects and other incidental ends and advantages will more fully-appear in the progress While it characters designate which similar reference corresponding parts throughout the several views of each embodi ment: I

Figure 1 is a view in perspective of a fir'sterm bodimentof the invention.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary perspective exploded iew of parts of Figure 1. I Figure 3 is anenlarged'fragmentary sectional view..as seen from the plane 33 on Figure 1. Figure 4 is afront elevational view of a second embodiment of 'theinvention. Thislis-a frag-f mentary view withflcover element removed;

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical. sectional view as seen from the plane 55fon Figure 4.

' Turning now to "the" first embodiment of the invention as shown on Figures 1 to 3 inclusive, the hanger cover, generally indicated by reference character 10 comprises broadly a cover element l2, a, plurality of retainer elements l4 and: i6, aplurality of indicia holding elements l8 and 2B, an'daplurality of securing members 22,23, and 24. "The in'diciais indicated by reference characters'26and 28. I

'The cover element [2 is composed of'any suit; able flexible dust retarding planar material. 'I prefer to fabricate'the cover element l2 of sheet synthetic resin, such as for example, vinyl copolymer resins. Other similar materials, such as oilsilk, coated textiles, or thelike may be used. The cover element l2includes a front wall '30, a rear wall 32, and-a top'wall 34. The front and rear walls may be joined to the top wall inany suitable manner as by the bound seams 36 and 38 and the lower free edged the cover element may be reinforced by the binding 40. The. top wall 34 is providedwith an opening 42 through which the upper or hook portion 44 of .a well known clothes hanger 46 may be upwardly pro-,

jected. Obviously the lower free edge (covered by the binding may be as low as desired, de -v pending 'upon .the .amount of the garment .50

which it is desired, to protect. This results. in.

maybe reduced 'toinfinityjandthe retainer elements and indicia holding elements held by the securing members at the juncture of the upper; most edges of the front andrear wins 30 and .32.

In "this event the opening may beformed by an incomplete joining thereat of the upper edges of the front and rear walls.

The retainer elements I4 and I6 are preferably composed of a resilient material have a predetermined coefiicient of friction. Since they are substantially identical in construction, a detailed description of one will suffice for both, the parts on the element l6 being given the next following reference character. Thus the retainer element I4' (see Figure 4) may include a front gripping member 54, a rear gripping member 56, and a top member 58. The top member 58 is provided with a plurality of holes 60 through which pass the securing members 22 and 23, and the top wall 34 has corresponding holes for this purpose, although said last mentioned holes may be produced by the piercing action of the securing members 22 and 23 during assembly. The retainer element I4 is substantially inverted U-shape in cross-section, the front and rear gripping members, in an unstressed condition, being slightly bent toward each other. The distance between the front and rear gripping members is preferably substantially equal to the horizontal thickness of the hanger body 46 thereat so that when the device is in use the front and rear gripping members 54 and 56 may frictionally engage the garment 50 upon the hanger 46. The retainer elements I4 and I6 may be composed for example of spring metal or plastic (synthetic resin). Satisfactory metals include'brass, phosphor bronze, stainless steel, and the like. The plastics may include methylmethacrylate, polyethylene, polystyrene, and the like, in which the plasticizer content is adjusted to provide the desired stability and resiliency. It is desirable that the inner opposed and therefore active surfaces of the gripping members have a slightly roughened or matte surface. This increases the frictional effect thereof, particularly where the fabric of which the garment 50 is composed is slippery. These surfaces should not be excessively rough because they would then mar or roughen the fabric surface.

The indicia holding elements are preferably composed of the same material of which the retainer elements are fabricated, with the added consideration. that at least the upper portion shall be transparent. A detailed description of the element I8 will suffice for the both, that is I8 and 26, the corresponding parts on the element 20 being given the next following reference character. Thus the indicia holding element I8 (Figure 4) may include a base, a front transparent panel 68, an upper bend portion Ill, and a rear transparent panel.12. The'base 62 is provided with holes (not shown) which correspond to the holes 60, and serves to support the front and rear transparent panels in an upright position as well as to anchor and reinforce'the attachment of the retainer element I4 to the top wall 34. The bend portion 10 enables the front and rear transparent panels to have relative resilient movement, so that when the indicia 26 on an indicia carrying element 14 is inserted therebetween, said element 14 will be frictionally retained therein, by the compression between the front and rear transparent panels. This feature enables the indicia carrying element to be easily changed so that the information conveyed thereby may be correct at all times, said information being for example, the size, and/or style of the garmentthe price, and the name of the store.

" In the manufacture of the present device. the

retainer element I4 and the indicia holding element I 8 may be held upon the lower and upper surfaces respectively of the top wall 34 by the securing members 22 and 23, which are preferably in the form of rivets, as shown. Depending upon the particular materials of which the cover element, retainer element, and indicia holding element are composed, other equivalent securing means may be used, as for example, staples, screws and nuts, bendable tabs on one of the retainer or indicia holdingelements, welding or soldering. The way the parts are assembled is clearly shown in Figure 3 of the accompanying drawings.

The use of the cover I0 is also facilitated by the fact that the front and rear transparent panels 68 and I2 may be manually grasped to aid in the placing of the retainer element l4 upon the shoulder portion of the garment 50 as it is resting upon and supported by the hanger body 46, and also in disengaging the same.

It may thus be seen that I have provided a novel and useful hanger cover construction, which not only protects the clothing from dust and dirt, but also prevents the garment from accidentally slipping off the hanger to fall upon the ground or floor. Convenient handles are provided by the indicia holding elements I8 and 20 which also enable ready identification of the characteristics of the garment as well as other pertinent information. While I have shown, on the hanger cover I0, two assemblies, one adapted to engage one of the garment shoulder portions and the other to engage the other garment shoulder portion, depending upon the type of garment a different number of these assemblies may be used.

Turning now to the second embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figures 4 and 5, for the purpose of avoiding needless repetition, certain of the parts corresponding generally to those of the first embodiment are given the same reference characters with the addition of the prefix (1.3!

The second embodiment differs from the prior described one principally in that the retainer elements I4 and I6 instead of being carried by the cover element H2 per se, are carried on ar-m elements I16 and I18, which are in turn supported by the lower part of the hook portion I44 of the hanger I46. The retainer elements H4 and H6 have their top members I58 and I59 elongated and at their inner ends, said top members are secured to the outer ends of the arm elements I16 and I18.

I wish it to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to the exact details of construction shown and described for obvious modifications will occur to persons skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. Hanger cover construction for use in con- Junction with a clothes hanger comprising: a cover element and a retainer element; said cover element including front and rear walls joined together by a top wall, and adapted to overlie a garment having shoulder portions in place upon said clothes hanger; said retainer element including a top member and front and rear gripping members disposed substantially at right angles with respect to said top member; said top member of said retaining element having a width substantially equal to that of said hanger, so that said front and rear gripping members may resiliently engage a shoulder portion of a garment supported upon said hanger to retain said portion upon said hanger; said retainer element being secured to the inner surface of the top wall of said cover element, whereby the engagement of said retainer element with a shoulder portion of a garment supported by said hanger may maintain said cover element in position upon the upper portion of said garment and said hanger.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which the retainer element is provided with indicia carrying means engaging the outer surface of the top Wall of the cover element.

RALPH S. REINER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,638,375 Stutz Aug. 9, 1927 1,682,106 Banks Aug. 28, 1928 1,932,890 Grondahl Oct. 31, 1933 1,987,174 Zetlin Jan. 8, 1935 2,042,846 Hoffman June 2, 1936 

